The Dutch Arthritis Society (ReumaNederland) and NWO have awarded a consortium led by Hans Tol, Kaj Emanuel (picture), Sjoerd Stufkens and Gino Kerkhoffs of the department of Orthopedic Surgery and Sports Medicine at Amsterdam UMC, a grant of 850,000 euros for The State of the Cartilage (START) project.
The START consortium aims to answer the question: "Why do some athletes develop persistent pain and limitations due to ankle osteoarthritis within a few years after an ankle sprain?" With a newly developed measurement device, the researchers expect to be able to determine the severity of the cartilage damage immediately after an ankle sprain. A large-scale multi-center study aims to demonstrate in which athletes the cartilage damage progresses towards osteoarthritis. In this way, they hope to detect and treat cartilage damage in an early stage before it progresses to irreversible osteoarthritis.
More information on the NWO website.